Both teams played out the game as per the instructions of their coaches, with India trying to impose their will early, while the Germans played more aggressively, harrying the Indian midfield, that was largely untroubled in the first game.

India still managed to create early chances, primarily through some great work by Manpreet, where twice he worked his way into the German circle and his pass only needed a touch to open the scoring for India. But Akashdeep and Sukhjeet both could not get their sticks to the crosses and the teams went into the quarter break tied at 0-0.

India came out stronger in the second quarter, much as they did last evening after a goalless first fifteen. They threatened to open the scoring through Moirangthem who found acres of space on the right side of the circle after some good switch play by India caught Germany out, but his shot/cross deflected out off a German stick before it could threaten the German keeper.

India finally made the pressure pay though, as a long corner saw some great work by a combination of Hardik, Manpreet and Nilakanta. Nilakanta then sent a fast pass towards the goal and Sukhjit smartly got ahead of Danneberg to deflect the ball in. Germany started to get on the front foot towards the end of the first half, but they could only muster one shot on target, that did not trouble Krishan Pathak too much, and he saved to maintain the Indian lead heading into the second half.

Ten minutes into the third quarter Lalit showed great skill to run into the German circle and baited the German defence into fouling him, winning India their first penalty corner of the game. It was Varun Kumar who took on the corner instead of Harmanpreet, and he showcased the depth India has in that department by blasting a low flick to the left bottom corner of the goal, giving India the two-goal cushion they desperately desired.

Germany were not quick to give-in though, and a great run into the Indian circle from the left baseline by Smith, forced Sreejesh to come charging out and Smith reversed the ball to Boeckel who had an empty goal to slot the ball into, right at the end of the third quarter, setting up a wonderful finish to the game.

India retreated a bit in the fourth quarter allowing Germany to commit numbers into attack. The strategy worked wonders for them as it opened up space behind the tight German mid-field and the dangerous Indian counter attacks started catching the German defenders out. India finally managed to convert one of their counter attacks into a goal as a long pass by Harmanpreet found the lively Abhishek at the top of the German circle, and his quick reverse hit was strong and perfectly placed into the corner of the German goal, leaving the otherwise excellent keeper Danneberg with no chance of stopping it.

India finished off the last five minutes of the game with minimum fuss, except for one penalty corner that was won by the tireless German captain Zwicker. Krishan Pathak pulled off a stunning save on the resulting flick to keep the two goal lead intact and allowed them to play the final two minutes out with relative ease.

The win gives India a 10-point lead at the top of the table, but as coach Graham Reid pointed out before the game, India have played more matches than any other team, so the points buffer at the top is something they wanted to increase with this game and have successfully managed it with six points out of six taken against Germany.

Player of the match Nilakanta Sharma noted the possible improvements his team could make saying: “It is good to win both games but I think our finishing could be better and we have a long break before our next match, so we will work on it and do better in our next game.”

FIH Hockey Pro League action from the 2021/22 season concludes in India, and we will now move to Argentina for the next set of matches in both women and men season of the Pro League.
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TOP: Indian hockey team in a happy mood after their second win against Germany in the FIH Pro League at Kalinga Hockey Stadium in Bhubaneswar on 15 April 2022.
RIGHT: India captain Amit Rohidas (Right) poses with his Odisha and India teammate Shilanand Lakra in Bhubaneswar on 15 April 2022.